Board delays vote on food-service contract after public questions about vendor fees

The Millburn board postponed action on the district’s food-service contract after a public commenter and board members asked for additional review of the vendor’s management fee.

A resident who said he collects comparative contract data told the board Pomptonian’s management fee is 9.53 cents per dollar of food-service sales and contrasted that with a 7.35-cent rate he cited for Tenafly; he estimated Millburn’s current annual food sales at about $1.2 million and calculated a potential difference of roughly $26,000 per year. "Perhaps there is an opportunity to revisit the rate with Pomptonian before finalizing it," the commenter said.

Board members took that question up during agenda review. A board member asked whether the contract could be tabled so staff could explore the rate and related procurement information. Miss Shekason moved to exclude the food-service contract from the vote that night so the district could review the question further; Miss Longley Richards seconded the motion and the chair accepted the exclusion from the consent agenda.

Administrators said the contract under consideration represented a second renewal following an earlier bidding process and noted annual allowable increases under the vendor’s contract. Board members said they would seek comparative data where available and noted the normal procurement procedures that accompany renewals and bids.

The board proceeded to vote on other posted business items later in the meeting after removing the food-service contract from the night’s approvals.